Sckavone's History

A lifetime devotion to the community

The name Sckavone has been associated with Division St. and the Richmond neighborhood ever since 1908 when six-month-old Nick Sckavone immigrated here with his family from Italy.
From an early age, he had gumption and leadership qualities. When he was fifteen, he was selling The Oregonian on downtown street corners. His employers decided to save money by not buying back the
extra papers from the newsboys at the end of the day. Nick demonstrated his organizational skills and formed a union with the other newsboys and went on strike.

The publisher quickly resumed the buyback policy.
At seventeen, Sckavone established the Richmond Athletic Club to form the neighborhood baseball team. He had a lifetime devotion to amateur sports for both boys and girls, the Westmoreland’s Sckavone Field is named after him.
In 1931 he opened the Ever Ready Drug Store. At the time it was located directly west of Sckavone’s Restaurant, 4100 SE Division St. The lunch counter became the neighborhood gathering place. Conversations went from World War II to Vietnam,
local politics to Watergate, neighborhood gossip and sports. He built the current location in 1950 where he continued to connect deeply to the community.